Drug delivery of some small molecule therapeutic agents has been problematic due to their poor pharmacological profiles. These therapeutic agents often have low aqueous solubility, their bioactive forms exist in equilibrium with an inactive form, or high systemic concentrations of the agents lead to toxic side-effects. Some approaches to circumvent the problem of their delivery have been to conjugate the agent directly to a water-soluble polymer such as hydroxypropyl methacrylate (HPMA), polyethyleneglycol, and poly-L-glutamic acid. In some cases, such conjugates have been successful in solubilizing or stabilizing the bioactive form of the therapeutic agent, or achieving a sustained release formulation which circumvents complications associated with high systemic concentrations of the agent.
Another approach to the drug delivery problem has been to form host/guest inclusion complexes between the therapeutic agent and cyclodextrins or derivatives thereof. Cyclodextrins (α, β, γ) and their oxidized forms have unique physico-chemical properties such as good water solubility, low toxicity and low immune response. To date, most of the drug delivery studies with cyclodextrins have focused on their ability to form supra-molecular complexes, wherein cyclodextrins form host/guest inclusion complexes with therapeutic molecules and thus alter the physical, chemical, and/or biological properties of these guest molecules.
There is an ongoing need for new approaches to the delivery of small therapeutic agents that have poor pharmacological profiles.